Cape Town - The recovery session at Diaz Beach, Cape Point, where French Under-18 player Medhi Narjissi lost his life, was poorly supervised by team officials in dangerous conditions, the French Rugby Federation said in a statement.
Narjissi was swept away by a wave while swimming as France prepared for a five-nation U18 tournament in South Africa last month.
After an internal investigation, the federation has called for the immediate sacking of those responsible for leading the session, accusing officials of failing to heed warnings over rip currents at the beach.
“The decision to organise a recovery session in the water on Diaz Beach was made without considering the danger of the site, in particular that related to rip currents, waves and rocks,” the federation said.
“The FFR (French Rugby Federation) observes that the course and supervision of the session seem to have been poorly controlled, in particular for lack of clear supervision instructions given to staff members and players.”
The federation said it will approach the French Ministry of Sport to “terminate, without notice, the assignments of the sports technical advisers responsible during this trip” and to “take measures against other people who have supervised the France U18 team, regardless of their status”.
South Africa’s National Sea Rescue Institute spokesperson, Craig Lambinon, said they suspected strong rip currents swept the 17-year-old into the surf zone and out to sea.
The teenager had recently signed for Top 14 champions Toulouse and was the son of former Morocco men’s captain Jalil Narjissi.